Report Calls for End of Welfare and Food Stamp Restrictions for Felony Drug Offenders
by Derek Gilna
Congress should repeal the ban on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) that prevents felony drug offenders from participating in those programs and, until it does, ...
President Obama “Bans the Box” at Federal Government Agencies
by Derek Gilna
One of the many challenges experienced by the more than 630,000 people released from prison each year in the United States is securing employment. And one of the biggest hurdles ex-prisoners face when seeking jobs is the box ...
Washington State: Class-action Alleges DOC Policy of Denying Medical Care
by Derek Gilna
A federal class-action suit filed on November 17, 2015 claims that the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) has promulgated and carried out a policy of denying necessary medical care to prisoners with serious health problems. According ...
Connecticut Prisoner Obtains Settlement in Civil Rights Case
by Derek Gilna
Jerome Riddick, who has acknowledged he has a variety of mental disabilities, suffered for many years in the State of Connecticut’s prison system; at one point he was held in administrative segregation for six years without treatment. After filing ...
California Court Upholds Prisoners’ Convictions for Fatal Jail Beating
by Derek Gilna
By all accounts, the Theo Lacy jail in Orange County, California is a dangerous place, one where prisoners have organized into race-based groups known as “CARs” that “tax” other prisoners by meting out punishment or discipline. Some guards ...
Seventh Circuit Rules Wisconsin Prisoner’s Religious Rights Must be Honored
by Derek Gilna
David A. Schlemm, a Navajo tribe member confined in a Wisconsin state prison, sought to exercise his right to practice certain religious rituals required by his faith. Those included celebrating Ghost Feast, wherein members of the tribe ...
Prison Legal News Settles New Mexico Jail Suit for $235,000
by Derek Gilna
As many of our readers know, Prison Legal News is a strong proponent of breaking down barriers that restrict prisoners’ First Amendment rights. Jail officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico found ...
Seventh Circuit Rejects Prisoner’s 1983 Claim but Criticizes Controlling Precedent
by Derek Gilna
It’s not often that a federal appellate court criticizes the precedent that it feels obligated to follow, but that is what happened in a civil rights lawsuit filed by Illinois state prisoner Earnest Shields.
Shields sued prison ...
California Officials Reverse Position after Receiving Prison Phone Company Contributions
by Derek Gilna
Prisoners and members of their families filed a federal class-action lawsuit in November 2015 against officials in Orange County and three other California counties, for charging excessive jail phone rates. According to the complaint, “Tens of thousands ...
Oregon Corrections Enterprises Whistleblower Receives $450,000 for Wrongful Termination
by Derek Gilna
Rob Killgore, former director of Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE), who was fired by Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Colette S. Peters after he came forward as a whistleblower alleging wrongdoing in both agencies, settled his wrongful termination ...
